Autonomous food station

ABSTRACT

A novel food station comprises first and second pluralities of cubbies, each sized to enclose a food portion container, and a food collection hatch that is selectively externally accessible. A heating system can controllably heat one or more of the first plurality of cubbies independently of the first plurality of cubbies, and a cooling system can cool one or more of the second plurality of cubbies independently of the first plurality of cubbies. An internal transport system including an end effector that temporarily couples to the portion container carrier of a selected cooled cubby of the second plurality of cubbies and can controllably move the food portion container carrier to a selected heated cubby or to the food collection hatch.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 USC § 120 as a continuation-inpart to pending U.S. application Ser. No. 17/683,329 filed on 2022 Feb.28, entitled “Autonomous Food Station,” which claims priority as acontinuation-in part to pending U.S. application Ser. No. 17/387,936filed on 2021 Jul. 28, and thereby this application also claims priorityto U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/066,904 filed 2020 Aug. 18,and to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/105,056 filed 2020 Oct.23. The foregoing claims to priority are not an incorporation byreference.

BACKGROUND

Food vending machines are typically stocked with a finite selection ofconsumable food items, each with an indication of its price. Customerscan insert payment and select one of the stocked items for purchase andconsumption at the stored temperature, but if heating of the food itemis required the customer must do that himself subsequently and remotely.The customer does not directly affect the selection or timing of thefood items that are stocked in contemporary food vending machines, butrather the stocking is done on a regular basis without customer input.In the case of a conventional food vending machine, the maximum numberof food item choices available to the customer is limited by the sizeand architecture of the machine; the customer can choose only items thatare regularly stocked and therefore physically present within themachine at the time of the customer's selection.

Lockers have been disclosed for temperature-controlled storage andprovision of heated food items, but those require selective customeraccess to many external doors, i.e., an access-controlled external doorfor each stored and vended food item. Such a requirement can cause thecustomer-accessible area of the lockers to be excessively large for manyvenues. Moreover, the number of external locker doors is undesirablylimited (and therefore the number of food choices is also undesirablylimited) because of a practical height restriction: it is inconvenientand potentially unsafe for customers to reach overhead to retrieve hotfoods. Hence, locker systems have an undesirably limited expandabilityand capacity in many locations because they are inherently only one rowdeep (for customer access) and practically limited to being not morethan approximately 6 feet tall.

SUMMARY

The inventors of the current application recognized a need in the artfor an improved food storing and selling system, or a portion thereof,that may in certain embodiments: (1) help consumers to remotelypre-order desired food items or meals from a large menu of hot or coldchoices, the number of menu options not being limited by the capacity ofa vending machine; (2) autonomously store, cool, heat, and provide eachchosen food item independently at different scheduled times andtemperatures; (3) store and sell a sufficient variety and quantity ofcold or hot food items without requiring an excessively largecustomer-accessible area; (4) relax the time constraints for preparingand delivering hot meals to consumers, for example enabling such mealsto be prepared and delivered well before consumption rather thanimmediately before consumption; and/or (5) improve economies of scalefor production and delivery of hot meals. Certain embodiments of theautonomous food station disclosed herein can help meet one or more ofthe foregoing needs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purposes of illustration, there is shown in the drawingsexemplary embodiments, but the claims define their own bounds and arenot limited to the specific embodiments disclosed or shown.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of various example interactions or communicationsthat an embodiment of a novel autonomous food station may have with acustomer, food partner, and delivery partner.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an autonomous food station according to anexample embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a left perspective view of the autonomous food station of FIG.2 , with a left cubby access panel opened from the exterior.

FIG. 4 is a right perspective view of the autonomous food station ofFIG. 2 , with a right cubby access panel opened from the exterior.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an example internal transport system formovement of portion containers from the right sided cubbies of anautonomous food station, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a cubby and portion containerof an autonomous food station according to an example embodiment of thepresent invention, after opening the cubby from within the interior ofthe autonomous food station to remove the portion container carrier andportion container.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the portion container of FIG. 6 .

FIG. 8 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the cubby of FIG. 6 , ina closed state with the portion container inside.

FIG. 9 is a top view of the interior of the cubby of FIG. 6 , in aclosed state with the portion container inside.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the portion container carrier of thecubby of FIG. 6 .

FIG. 11 is an exploded view of an example heat transfer assembly for acubby of an autonomous food station according to an example embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a cubby including a portioncontainer of an autonomous food station according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention that utilizes the heat transferassembly of FIG. 11 .

FIG. 13 depicts an example of forced convection by a blower fan of theheat transfer assembly of the cubby of FIG. 12 .

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a plurality of cubbies of anautonomous food station according to an example embodiment of thepresent invention, showing an example of how cooling and heating fluidsmay be circulated to the cubbies.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a system for cooling and heatingfluids for independently heating or cooling individual cubbies of anautonomous food station, according to an example embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 16 is a side view of the interior of an autonomous food stationthat includes in a base compartment portions of the example cooling andheating system of FIG. 15 .

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the base compartment that supports theexample autonomous food station of FIG. 16 .

FIG. 18 depicts the base compartment of FIG. 17 viewed from an opposingdirection.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the internal transport system of theautonomous food station of FIG. 5 .

FIG. 20A through FIG. 20E is a series of perspective views showingexamples of movement of a portion container by the internal transportsystem of FIG. 5 , within an autonomous food station according to anexample embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a front perspective view of a front-loading autonomous foodstation according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the front-loading autonomous foodstation of FIG. 21 with two left cubby storage drawers drawn open forexternal access.

FIG. 23 depicts the interior of the front-loading autonomous foodstation of FIG. 21 .

FIG. 24 is a perspective cross-sectional view of a portion of theinterior of an autonomous food station according to another exampleembodiment of the present invention, showing a plurality of heatedcubbies.

FIG. 25 is a perspective cross-sectional view of a portion of theinterior of an autonomous food station according to another exampleembodiment of the present invention, showing a plurality of cooledcubbies.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart 100 of various example interactions orcommunications that an embodiment of a novel autonomous food station 102may have with a customer 108, food partner 106 (e.g. food provider), anddelivery partner 112. In the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the customer 108 mayinteract with the food partner 106 or the autonomous food station 102when ordering or paying for a consumable food item or meal, collectingthe meal, or returning a portion container (P.C.) 110 after use. Thedelivery partner 112 may interact with the food partner 106 when pickingup or returning portion containers 110, or interact with the autonomousfood station 102 when loading them into or collecting them from theautonomous food station 102. The food partner 106 may interact with theautonomous food station 102, customer 108, or delivery partner 112, whenproviding or updating menus, receiving orders of or payment for customeror cumulative menu choices 109, 119, or coordinating delivery orretrieval of portions containers 110.

The autonomous food station 102 at a particular site 104 may be owned bythe food partner 106. Alternatively, the owner or operator of theautonomous food station 102 may hire or otherwise contract with the foodpartner 106 to prepare and supply consumable meals or snacks. More thanone food partner 106 may prepare and supply meals to any givenautonomous food station 102, so that a customer 108 may have the optionto purchase consumable snacks and meals of numerous types. The foodpartner 106 may be a well-known restaurant whose brand more readilyattracts consumers, a commissary, etc. The owner may be a franchisee whooperates one or more autonomous food stations for a franchiser whocontrols what consumable food items are offered and partially profitsfrom their sale. The food partner might profit from the sale of meals tothe franchisee and the franchisee may profit from the sale of meals toend customers 108 via the autonomous food station 102. The owner of theautonomous food station 102 may pay a location owner (e.g. the owner ofthe site 104) a rental fee or a share of the profits for being allowedto place the autonomous food station 102 in one or more convenientlocation(s) owned by the location owner.

Convenient locations for the autonomous food station 102 may includeplaces frequented by consumers who are in the same vicinity day afterday such as apartment building lobbies, office buildings, officelunchrooms, workplace lobbies, university cafeterias, hospitalcafeterias, taverns, etc. Numerous autonomous food stations like theautonomous food station 102 may be conveniently positioned around aneighborhood, town, or city. The autonomous food station 102 could beinstalled in private or public locations, such as downtown businesscenters, ballparks, beaches, campgrounds, other recreational venues, orairport terminals or train stations where consumers could pick up apre-ordered meal before boarding.

Either the food partner 106 or the owner of the autonomous food station102 may offer the same menu for extended periods or may periodically(e.g. weekly) generate a new menu with a range of meal choices (a steakdinner, soup and sandwich, burger and fries, snacks, etc.), or with arange of meal components (proteins, sides, vegetables, etc.), or a rangeof cuisine ethnicities (Italian, Chinese, Mexican, etc.), or with arange of desserts (hot apple pie, cold desserts, room temperaturepastries, etc.). A customer 108 (e.g. the ultimate consumer) reviews andselects consumable food items from the menu(s) 111 offered by one ormore food partners 106.

The autonomous food station 102 may include software and hardware forenabling consumers to order and pay for a desired food consumable (e.g.meal, snack, salad, dessert, etc.) from an extensive menu of hot or coldchoices and from one or more food partners 106. For example, theautonomous food station 102 may include a system computer and foodstation control logic 115. The food station control logic 115 may be acontrol system having conventional microelectronics, software and/orfirmware, conventional volatile and/or non-volatile memory, and that isconventionally wired and programmed to be capable of controlling theelectromechanical actuators and heating and cooling systems of theautonomous food station 102.

The customer 108 may select and order a customer menu choice 109 in avariety of ways. For example, an app may be downloaded to the customer'ssmartphone for registration or unregistered interaction with one or moreautonomous foods stations 102 and/or an on-line site. The app may querythe customer's location and then query, store, or update informationabout various autonomous food stations 102 in the customer's region, oravailable menus from which the customer 108 may choose food items. Theapp may allow the customer 108 to register and input relevant personalinformation, payment information, food type preferences, dietaryrestrictions and allergies, most common location of use (“home base”),etc. The registered customer 108 may be required to select an accountpassword to verify the customer's identity to the app, and may beassigned a customer identification key 117 for verify the customer'sidentity to the autonomous food station 102.

In certain embodiments, the autonomous food station 102 may include auser interface allowing the customer 108 to input customeridentification information (e.g. the customer identification key 117) toreceive or place a food order at the site 104. In this way, for example,the customer 108 might conveniently place tomorrow's food order whilepicking-up today's meal. Accordingly, the user interface of theautonomous food station 102 might prompt the customer 108 such as “Wouldyou like to place another order,” or “10% off if you place another orderwithin the next 15 minutes,” etc., thereby promoting additional salesbefore the customer 108 has eaten (and so is presumably hungry).Alternately, the customer 108 may be able to order meals via a call-inphone number.

The customer 108 may communicate an order of customer menu choice 109 inadvance of the desired time of receipt of the food consumable, forexample the day before the desired day of receipt (Day 0). For example,as described above, the customer 108 may communicate the customer menuchoice 109 via a call-in number, or remotely using a smartphone app oron-line site, or via a system program and user-interface on theautonomous food station 102. The customer's order may be stored in theautonomous food station control logic 115 and the customer may beprovided with a customer identification key 117 (e.g. a security code)for customer identity verification at the autonomous food station 102.The software may allow customers to reschedule the time of receipt inadvance, for example prerequisite upon using the customer identificationkey 117 to verify that rescheduling is being done by the customer andnot another person.

Cumulative customer menu choices 119 are preferably transmitted to thefood partner 106 who then prepares and places each selected foodconsumable into a portion container 110. The autonomous food station 102preferably allows delivery of the consumable from the food partner 106at an earlier time, and then provides the consumable to the customer 108in a ready-to-eat condition in the sealed portion container at or aroundthe later time. Before the desired time of receipt, for example on themorning of Day 0, the portion containers 110 may be picked up from thefood partner 106 by a delivery partner 112, and delivered to theautonomous food station 102, for example in a refrigerated vehicle 114.The autonomous food station 102 may enable loading of pre-orderedconsumables from one or more providing food partners 106 into storagechambers (i.e. cubbies). In certain embodiments, the portion containers110 may be randomly loaded into individual cubbies 116 of the autonomousfood station 102.

The autonomous food station 102 preferably includes a heating andcooling system 230 to enable the customer 108 (e.g. a consumer) tocollect the chosen food consumable in a fresh and heated or cooled stateat a convenient location at a chosen future time. For example, theheating and cooling system 230 of the autonomous food station 102includes equipment to preferably enable each cubby 116 to store aconsumable at a refrigerated temperature that can maintain the freshnessof that consumable until an appropriate time before receipt by thecustomer 108, and to then begin heating the consumable so that it willbe ready to consume when received, for example by beginning to heat acooled cubby at a scheduled time, or moving a food portion containerfrom a cooled cubby to a heated cubby at a scheduled time.

Each portion container is preferably provided with a label 124 that canbe read and its associated data stored in the memory of the food stationcontrol logic 115. For example, the associated data may be used by thecontrol system of the food station control logic 115 to determine thetemperatures and heating and cooling schedule and durations for thecubby 116 into which the portion container 110 is loaded. In that way,the labels 124 of each of the portion containers 110 loaded into theautonomous food station 102 may provide the information needed for thefood station control logic 115 to properly control the temperatureversus time for each of the cubbies 116, independently of the othercubbies 116. Alternatively, some the information may be provided viaconventional microelectronics that can communicate via an internetconnection, for example via the internet from the food partner 106, oralternatively may be input directly at the site 104 by the deliverypartner 112 via a user interface of the autonomous food station 102itself.

In this way, the autonomous food station 102 may enable the food partner106 to prepare and supply meals that are intended to be served warm orhot to the autonomous food station 102 well in advance of regularmealtimes or expected receipt by the customer 108, thereby relaxing thetime constraints for preparing and delivering warm or hot meals toconsumers, for example enabling such meals to be prepared and deliveredwell before consumption rather than immediately before consumption.

The autonomous food station 102 also preferably includes an internaltransport system 164 for moving the portion container 110 correspondingto customer menu choice 109 to a collection hatch 113 of the autonomousfood station 102 at the demand of the identified customer 108 at oraround the scheduled time of receipt, and allows access to thecollection hatch 113 by the customer 108 after verification of thecustomer identification key 117. In certain embodiments the collectionhatch 113 may be located at a height determined to be most convenientfor the average customer. Because internal transport of the portioncontainers 110 is accomplished by the internal transport system 164 to aconveniently located collection hatch 113, the autonomous food station102 may store and sell a large variety and quantity of cold or hot fooditems without requiring an excessively large customer-accessible areaand without requiring customers to access lockers that are too high orout of reach. For example, because of the internal transport system 164,the customer need not be provided direct access to everything that isstored but rather only the collection hatch 113.

The information on the label 124 of the portion container 110, forexample cooling instructions for storage or heating instructions forpreparation of the consumable food item therein, the identification(e.g. number) of the cubby 116 in which that portion container '110 isstored, and the customer identification key 117, may be scanned orotherwise conventionally input and stored in the food station controllogic 115. After the label 124 of each portion container 110 has beenscanned, the food station control logic 115 may command the system torefrigerate the cubbies 116 containing portion containers 110 tomaintain a temperature suitable for extended safe storage of cooked food(e.g. 37° F.), for example to reduce any adverse effect upon the tasteand flavor of the food while the consumable is stored.

If the portion container 110 holds a meal to be delivered warm or hot,then the food station control logic 115 may command heating of thecorresponding cubby 116, or movement of the food portion container froma cooled cubby to a heated cubby, sufficiently in advance of thescheduled or amended time for pick-up by the customer 108 (e.g. one hourprior, or a period sufficient to achieve an appropriate food servingtemperature such as 140° F.), and keep it at that temperature untilreceipt by the customer 108. If the food is to be served cold, it may bemaintained at the refrigerated temperature. If the food is to be servedat room temperature, it may be warmed only to room temperature.

Customers arriving at the site 104 of the autonomous food station 102 topick up their food preferably will first identify themselves to the foodstation control logic 115 using their customer identification key 117.Recognizing the customer 108, the food station control logic 115 maythen command the internal transport system 164 to internally convey thecorresponding portion container 110 from its cubby 116 to the collectionhatch 113. The food station control logic 115 preferably keeps track ofwhich cubbies 116 no longer contain portion containers 110, and stopsthe heating or cooling of those cubbies 116 for improved energyefficiency. The food station control logic 115 may also recognize when acustomer has not collected her portion container 110 before theexpiration of some period after the requested pick-up time, and may thensend a reminder, such as by call or text to the customer's smartphone,by email, or via a smartphone app. Based on feedback which may then beprovided by the customer 108, the food station control logic 115 maykeep the food at its heated temperature for an additional specified andbiologically safe period of time, chill the food to avoid spoilage andreheat if and while biologically safe, or chill the portion container110 and prompt the food delivery partner 112 to remove the un-claimedportion container 110 during the next delivery and retrieval visit tosite 104 (e.g. for subsequent disposal of its contents and cleaning forreuse by the food partner 106).

After customers 108 have consumed their food, they may place the emptyportion containers 110 into a storage unit 128, where they may be keptat a desired temperature and humidity (e.g. moist to facilitate futurecleaning). The delivery partner 112 may later retrieve them (e.g. thefollowing morning) from the storage unit 128, for example to return themto the food partner 106 to be washed and sterilized for re-use. Thestorage unit 128 may be a large container external of the autonomousfood station 102 intended merely to collect the empty portion containers110 in a sanitary manner apart from the autonomous food station 102.Alternatively, the storage unit 128 may be an internal portion andfunction of the autonomous food station 102. If internal, the storageunit 128 may have means to move, scan, and identify the returned portioncontainer 110. Whether internal or external, the customer 108 mayultimately receive a return deposit or credit against his account oncethe returned portion container 110 is scanned and identified afterreturn. If the portion containers 110 are disposable, compostable, orrecyclable, the portion containers may be marked with disposalinstructions or icons that guide the customer 108 accordingly.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an autonomous food station 102 according to anexample embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a leftperspective view of the autonomous food station 102, with a thermallyinsulated left cubby access panel 196L opened from the exterior. FIG. 4is a right perspective view of the autonomous food station 102, with athermally insulated right cubby access panel 196R opened from theexterior. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an example internal transportsystem 164 for movement of portion containers 110 from the right sidedcubbies 116 of the autonomous food station 102.

In certain embodiments, the autonomous food station 102 may have arectangular cuboid shape, for example of sufficient width and height toenclose 72 cuboid cubbies 116 for storing food portion containers 110,while preferably (but not necessarily) fitting through a standard sizedcommercial doorway. For example, in a particular embodiment, such anautonomous food station 102 may be approximately 35″ wide, 78″ tall, and49″ deep. In certain embodiments the collection hatch 113 may bepositioned approximately halfway up the height of the station to ensureconvenient customer access thereto. Each of the left and right cubbyaccess panels 196L and 196R is preferably large enough to providevisibility and external access to the cubbies 116 for loading andcleaning, and is preferably insulated to optionally serve as the outsidewall of the cubbies 116.

A base compartment 197 forming the lower portion of the autonomous foodstation 102 may be dedicated to house the cooling and heating system andvarious controls. It may also house the system computer and controllogic 115, and support the rest of the autonomous food station 102,including the internal transport system 164 and the cubbies 116. Thewalls 199 of the autonomous food station 102 may include thermal andacoustic insulation and be structural capable of carrying the weight ofthe rest of the autonomous food station 102. The walls 199 mayoptionally include left and right base compartment air vents 191, 193.

The delivery partner 112 may have a key or access code to externallyopen the left and right cubby access panels 196L and 196R to load fooditems or collect unused food items. As will be described subsequentlyherein, the autonomous food station 102 may include an identificationsite 122 with a scanner 171 to read a label 124 or code on each portioncontainer 110, so that the food station control logic 115 canautomatically associate each portion container 110 with itscorresponding cubby 116 (i.e. internal location). In embodiments wherethe autonomous food station 102 is so equipped, the delivery partner 112may load each new portion container 110 (one per cubby 116) randomly,without concern for specific positions or following a specific order.After all portion containers 110 are loaded into their cubbies 116, theinternal transport system 164 may be used to transport each portioncontainer 110 to the identification site 122 to have its label 124scanned, and then be returned to its cubby 116. The food station controllogic 115 preferably associates in its memory the identified meal withthe associated customer identification key 117 and its correspondingcubby 116—now a known location for that meal. Each meal may have a mealpreparation instruction specific thereto. This instruction also may bestored in the memory of the food station control logic 115, or may beprovided to the logic by a code on the label 124. For example, a soupmay be best served at 160° F. while a grilled cheese sandwich may bebest served at 130° F., and a tuna sandwich may be best served at roomtemperature. Such serving temperature preparation instructions may beassociated with the corresponding cubby 116 by the food station controllogic 115.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a cubby 116 and portioncontainer 110 of an autonomous food station according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention, after opening the cubby 116 fromwithin the interior of the autonomous food station to remove a portioncontainer carrier 174 and portion container 110. As shown in FIG. 6 ,the portion container 110 may include a label 124, for example whichincludes scannable information specific to that portion container 110,the meal inside, and/or the associated customer. FIG. 7 is across-sectional view of the portion container 110 of FIG. 6 . Whenseparated, the lid 151 of the portion container 110 may be stackablewith lids of other like portion containers, and the base 153 of theportion container 110 may be stackable with the bases of other likeportion containers for compact nested storage or transport.

FIG. 8 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the cubby 116 of FIG. 6, in a closed state with the portion container 110 inside. FIG. 9 is atop view of the interior of the cubby 116 of FIG. 6 , in a closed statewith the portion container 110 inside. FIG. 10 is a perspective view ofthe portion container carrier 110 of the cubby 116 of FIG. 6 . Incertain embodiments, the portion container 110 may have a rounded shapewhich, being similar to most dishware, may be familiar to customers as afood serving container. In certain embodiments, air circulation may beimproved for heating and cooling the portion container 110 within thecubby 116 because cubby 116 has a cuboid inner chamber, while theportion container 110 has a rounded shape that leaves peripheral spacefor the air flow.

The cubby 116 is preferably thermally insulated to save energy andfacilitate establishment and maintenance of a temperature differencebetween the cubby's interior and its exterior environment within theautonomous food station 102, as directed by the food station controllogic 115. As shown in FIG. 8 , the cubby 116 may include enoughinternal space for the portion container 110, a heat transfer assembly130, and insulation on all sides. In certain embodiments, the back 155of the cubby 116 may be formed by a portion or region of one of theinsulated left and right cubby access panels 196L and 196R. In theembodiment of FIG. 10 . the portion container carrier 174 includes twobasic elements: a portion container support plate 159, and a carrierplate 163. The carrier plate 163 includes a front panel 157 (of thecubby 116) to which the portion container support plate 159 may bepermanently fixed. The front panel 157 of the cubby 116 may includeinsulation of adequate thickness to facilitate heating or cooling of theinside of the cubby 116 (e.g. approximately 1″ thickness in certainembodiments). Cubbies that are intended to be heated or cooled as agroup may forego insulation on separating walls between them. Theportion container support plate 159 is preferably designed to supportthe portion container 110 within the cubby 116, and thereby may improveheated or cooled air circulation around the portion container 110. Forexample, the portion container support plate 159 may comprise ahorseshoe-shaped horizontal metal plate that fits around a circular rimthat protrudes downwardly from the base 153 of the portion container110.

The carrier plate 163 of the portion container carrier 174 may include ahandle 165 that can be grasped by an end-effector 172 of the internaltransport system 164 of FIG. 5 . In the embodiment of FIG. 10 theportion container carrier 174 serves to carry the portion container 110,for example as it is transported by the internal transport system 164 ofFIG. 5 (e.g. from the cubby 116 to the collection hatch 113 to becollected by the customer 108, or to the identification site 122 forscanning of the label 124 of the portion container 110). The portioncontainer support plate 159 preferably can slide out from around a lowerrim that protrudes downwardly from the base 153 of the portion container110, so that the portion container 110 may be remain in the collectionhatch 113 while the portion container carrier 174 is being withdrawn bythe internal transport system 164. In this way, the portion containercarrier 174 may facilitate loading and removal of the portion containersfrom cubbies 116 and the collection hatch 113.

FIG. 11 is an exploded view of an example heat transfer assembly 130 foruse in a cubby 116 of an autonomous food station according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 11 , theheat transfer assembly 130 optionally includes a housing 267, a blowerfan 158, a heating and cooling element 167, and a temperature sensor 162(e.g. a negative temperature coefficient thermistor). FIG. 12 is across-sectional view of a cubby 116 including a portion container 110 ofan autonomous food station according to an example embodiment of thepresent invention, which utilizes the heat transfer assembly 130 of FIG.11 . FIG. 13 depicts an example of forced convection by a blower fan 158of the heat transfer assembly 130 of the cubby 116 of FIG. 12 , witharrows depicting a simplified representation of a resulting air flow.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a plurality of cubbies 116 of anautonomous food station according to an example embodiment of thepresent invention, showing an example of how cooling and heating fluidsmay be circulated to the cubbies 116. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram ofa hydronic heating and cooling system 230 for heating, cooling, andcirculating thermal fluid(s) for individually and independently heatingand cooling the cubbies 116 of an autonomous food station according toan example embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16 is a side viewof the interior of an autonomous food station 102 that includes a basecompartment 197 that houses portions of the example cooling and heatingsystem of FIG. 15 . The base compartment 197 may also include a housing198 for the system computer and control logic 115. FIG. 17 is aperspective view of the base compartment 197 that supports the exampleautonomous food station 102 of FIG. 16 . FIG. 18 depicts the basecompartment 197 of FIG. 17 viewed from an opposing direction.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 14-16 , each portion container 110 is storedindividually within a corresponding insulated cubby 116 that may becooled and heated independently of the other portion containers 110 andthe interiors of the other cubbies 116. In certain embodiments, theindependent heating and cooling may be done by a hydronic system asshown, but in other embodiments another conventional heating or coolingtechnology may be used, such as a separately switched electrical heatingelement in each insulated cubby 116, or by provision of a microwavemagnetron for directing microwave radiation to controllably heat anenclosed food portion container in one or more shielded cubbies, etc.

In certain embodiments, one or more fluids may be heated, cooled, anddistributed for circulation through the heat transfer assemblies 130 ofthe cubbies 116 by a hydronic system like the example heating andcooling system 230 shown in the schematic representation of FIG. 15 .The hydronic heating and cooling system 230 may include a conventionalrefrigeration subsystem 132 (e.g. in certain embodiments a conventional4000 BTU refrigeration subsystem may be sufficient), for example, havinga compressor 133, a shell and tube evaporator 134, a condenser 135, anda high-to-low pressure valve 137, for cooling a thermal fluid 136 (e.g.a liquid used for heat transfer, such as water or a solution or fluidhaving a lower freezing temperature than does water).

The hydronic heating and cooling system 230 may also include aconventional boiler 138 with a submersed electric heating element 142.In this context the term “boiler” does not imply that the thermal fluidis necessarily brought to its boiling point, and in certain preferredembodiments it is not boiled but rather heated to a temperature belowits boiling point. Rather, the term “boiler” is used here only to referto a conventional apparatus for heating a liquid. Hence the heating andcooling system 230 may be a combination of two systems, a heating systemthat selectively provides heat to each of the cubbies 116 independentlyof the other cubbies 116 (e.g., with a heating rate and for a heatingduration that is independently controlled by the food station controllogic 115), and a cooling system that selectively removes heat from eachof the cubbies 116 independently of the other cubbies 116 (e.g., with acooling rate and for a cooling duration that is independently controlledby the food station control logic 115).

In the embodiment of FIG. 15 , the hydronic heating and cooling system230 may include a hot return header or manifold 143, a hot supplymanifold 144, a cold supply manifold 145, and a cold return manifold147. These manifolds or headers may be connected to a series ofcirculation tubes 146, valves 148 (e.g. four-way port pinch valves thatmay be actuated by solenoids controlled by the food station controllogic 115), and conventional electrical pumps 150 for driving thethermal fluids through the heat transfer assemblies 130 of the cubbies116. The food station control logic 115 preferably controls theoperation of the pumps 150 and the valves 148. The valves and pumps maydirect certain cubbies to be heated and others to be cooled at differenttimes, and some cubbies may be capable of only heating or cooling byomitting one or more of the circulation tubes 146 to such cubbies tosimplify the system and reduce its total cost and complexity. While FIG.15 shows a plurality of individually controllable pumps 150, such pumpsoptionally may be replaced by a single pump and one or more additionalvalves, functioning to supply heated or chilled thermal fluidindependently to the heat transfer assemblies 130 under direction of thefood station logic 115.

The circulation tubes 146 may be flexible insulated tubes, and may bechanneled through a gap 154 between the cubbies 116. For example, in oneexample embodiment, the circulation tubes 146 optionally may be 12 mmdiameter flexible tubes that are routed through 25 mm gaps 154. Incertain embodiments, conventional insulated electric wires may be routedalong with the circulation tubes 146 and be used to supply electricalpower to the cubby blower fans 158 and the temperature sensors 162 ofthe heat transfer assemblies 130. In certain embodiments, the assemblyof the autonomous food station 102 may include routing the circulationtubes 146 and electric wires into the gaps between the cubbies 116,connecting their ends as needed, and then filling the gaps withexpandable polyurethane insulation after the tubes circulation 146 andelectric wires have been tested and found to operate satisfactorily.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the internal transport system 164 ofthe autonomous food station 102 of FIG. 5 . FIG. 20A through FIG. 20E isa series of perspective views showing examples of movement of a portioncontainer 110 by the internal transport system 164. In the embodiment ofFIGS. 19 and 20A, the internal transport system 164 can translate theend effector 172 in three orthogonal directions, e.g. along an X axis, Yaxis, and Z axis 184 of a Cartesian coordinate system, to transport theportion containers 110 within the autonomous food station 102 under thecontrol of the food station control logic 115. For example, the X axismay be horizontal and run side-to-side relative to the autonomous foodstation 102, the Y axis may be vertical, and the Z axis 184 may behorizontal and run front-to-back relative to the autonomous food station102. The internal transport system 164 may include a support-frame 176and conventional power and control cables. The internal transport system164 may comprise conventional servo-controlled hydraulic orelectromechanical actuators, such as orthogonal drive spindles 166 (e.g.lead screws) and drive motors 168 (e.g. stepper motors indexed by thecontrol system of the food station control logic 115) as shown in FIG.19 , or may comprise another conventional mechanism for driving motionin the X-Y plane.

The internal transport system 164 preferably also includes an endeffector 172 that may be adapted to temporarily couple to the handle 165of the portion container carrier 174 of each cubby 116 (e.g. by latchingon to the handle 165), to enable the internal transport system 164 toretract and transport portion container carriers 174 along with theportion container 110 that each supports. In certain embodiments theinternal transport system may comprise a conventional robotic arm withthe end effector 172 attached to a distal end of the robotic arm.

The end effector 172 may be mounted on a motor-driven belt 182 (e.g.driven by a stepper motor under the control of the food station controllogic 115) for movement along the Z axis 184, or alternatively may bedriven along the Z axis 184 by another conventional servo-controlledhydraulic or electromechanical actuator, for example in the same manneras for the X axis or Y axis (e.g. by use of a Z-oriented lead screw thatis turned by a controlled stepper motor). The end effector 172 mayinclude a plurality of brackets 186 (e.g., two L-shaped or T-shapedbrackets), for example, one on the left and one on the right, forselectively coupling with (e.g. grabbing) the portion container carriers174 on the left and right sides of the handle 165, respectively.Alternately the end effector 172 may include a single bracket that mayswivel to the left or the right for coupling with the handle 165 of theportion container carrier 174.

In certain embodiments, one of the roles of the internal transportsystem 164 may be to move portion containers 110 to and from anidentification site 122 so that the content and location of each canbecome known to the food station control logic 115. This role isdepicted by the series of perspective views shown in FIGS. 20A, 20B, and20C. For example, after the portion containers 110 are loaded into thecubbies 116 (e.g. randomly by the delivery partner 112), the foodstation control logic 115 may command the internal transport system 164to initiate identification of each portion container 110 by moving eachportion container 110 to the identification site 122 for scanning of itslabel 124, and then returning it to its corresponding cubby 116. Incertain embodiments, each cubby 116 may optionally include aconventional sensor (e.g. capacitive or magnetic sensor orpressure-sensitive switch) to signal to the food station control logic115 whether the cubby 116 is empty or contains a portion container 110,so that the food station control logic 115 can efficiently avoidcommanding the internal transport system 164 to transport portioncontainer carriers 174 that do not support any portion container 110.

For cubbies 116 that include a portion container 110, the internaltransport system 164 may methodically pick up one portion container 110after another, and transport each to the identification site 122 so thatits label 124 may be read by a scanner 171 (e.g. a camera, or QR code orbarcode reader). The portion container's label information may then beassociated with its location (i.e. corresponding cubby 116) by the foodstation control logic 115. The internal transport system 164 may thenreturn the portion container 110 to its cubby 116 before repeating theprocess with the next portion container 110.

In certain alternative embodiments, the autonomous food station 102 maynot need to use the internal transport system 164 for identification ofthe portion containers 110, or for associating each with itscorresponding cubby 116 in which it is located. For example, use of theinternal transport system 164 may not be necessary for identificationand location of the portion containers 110 in embodiments in which theuser interface of the autonomous food station 102 permits the deliverypartner 112 to enter a portion container identification number for eachcubby 116 that is loaded. Also, for example, use of the internaltransport system 164 may not be necessary for identification andlocation of the portion containers 110 in alternative embodiments thatinclude a label scanner in each cubby 116.

Another role of the internal transport system 164 may be to move portioncontainers 110 between cooled and heated cubbies at specified times, orto the collection hatch 113 for collection by the customer 108 at aspecified time. This latter role is depicted by the series ofperspective views shown in FIGS. 20A, 20B, 20D, and 20E. For example,when a customer 108 identifies herself to the user interface of theautonomous food station 102 for food collection, the food stationcontrol logic 115 may then command the internal transport system 164 toretrieve the corresponding portion container 110 and transport it to thecollection hatch 113.

The collection hatch 113 may include two shutters, a front externalshutter 192 facing the customer and a rear internal shutter 194 at theback of the collection hatch 113 facing the interior space of theautonomous food station 102 and its internal transport system 164. Thefood station control logic 115 may be programmed to open and close theseshutters during the internal transport of the portion container 110 intothe collection hatch 113. For example the external shutter 192 may beservo controlled by an actuator such as a solenoid, so that the externalaccessibility of the collection hatch 113 is selective and controllableby the control system of the food station control logic 115. Theinternal shutter 194 may also be servo controlled by a conventionalactuator such as a solenoid so that access from the collection hatch 113to an interior of the autonomous food station 102 may be selectivelydenied while the external shutter 192 is open.

After the portion container carrier 174 is retracted from under theportion container 110 within the collection hatch 113, the internaltransport system 164 preferably returns the portion container carrier174 to its cubby 116, and then waits for the next command from the foodstation control logic 115.

Another optional role of the internal transport system 164 may be, incertain embodiments, to transport used portion containers 110 that arereturned to the collection hatch 113 by customers 108 to an internalstorage area of the autonomous food station 102. For example, when acustomer 108 comes back after eating, or when a customer 108 comes tocollect their next meal, certain embodiments may allow the customer 108to insert a used and possibly empty or mostly-empty portion containerback to the collection hatch 113. In certain preferred embodiments thatmay not be allowed, but rather an external storage for returned portioncontainers 110 may be utilized instead, for example, to avoid the riskthat the autonomous food station 102 (e.g. the collection hatch 113)could become contaminated by handling used portion containers 110. Suchrisk may depend, in part, on the type of foods being sold.

In embodiments allowing internal return of used portion containers 110,the food station control logic 115 may respond to a “return container”prompt (e.g., from the customer 108 at the user interface of theautonomous food station 102) by causing the external shutter 192 of thecollection hatch 113 to open to allow the customer 108 to place the usedportion container 110 into the collection hatch 113. This may require nocustomer identity verification. The food station control logic 115 maythen command the external shutter 192 to close and the internal shutter194 to open so that the internal transport system 164 can move the usedportion container 110 to an internal storage area directly, or first tothe identification site 122 to identify the returned portion container110 for credit to the customer 108. The food station control logic 115may then prompt the customer 108 to give feedback about perceived mealquality, which may be used to adjust future menus 111 in general orfuture offerings to the particular prompted customer 108.

Another optional role of the internal transport system 164 may be, incertain embodiments, to transport a portion container 110 from a typicalcubby 116 to another cubby that can perform special or additionalfunctions relative to typical cubbies 116. For example, based oninformation read from the label 124 of the portion container 110, thefood station control logic 115 may determine that the portion container110 should be relocated to another cubby that has special or additionalfood preparation utilities. Examples of special or additional foodpreparation utilities may include shielding and a conventional microwavemagnetron for rapid heating, or a means for meeting a food moisturerequirement such as conventional humidity control using a desiccant.

FIG. 21 is a front perspective view of a front-loading autonomous foodstation 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the front-loading autonomous foodstation 200 with two left cubby storage drawers drawn open for externalaccess. FIG. 23 depicts the interior of the front-loading autonomousfood station 200.

The front-loading autonomous food station 200 of the embodiment of FIGS.21-23 optionally includes groups 202L, 202C and 202R of cubbies 216,each group accessed via its own internal transport system and collectionhatch 213L, 213C, and 213R, respectively. Therefore, the front-loadingautonomous food station 200 may have the capacity to serve a largernumber of customers than the side-loading embodiment of FIGS. 2-4 ,which has only one internal transport system 164. Each group 202L, 202Cand 202R of cubbies 216 may have its own food station control logic, ormay share a common food station control logic. The food station controllogic may direct the customer to collect food at a specific one of thecollection hatches 213L, 213C, and 213R, according to which group 202L,202C and 202R of cubbies 216 includes the customer's portion container210. The delivery partner may service or load the entire station fromthe front of the autonomous food station 200, which may enable theautonomous food station 200 to be used in locations where the othersides of the autonomous foods station 200 would be inaccessible, and mayimprove loading and cleaning efficiency.

The autonomous food station 200 may be further expanded to includeadditional groups of cubbies and additional internal transport systemsarranged in side-by-side fashion. The increased capacity may allow thefood partner 106 to provide additional un-ordered meals, snacks,desserts, side dishes, etc., to be loaded into the autonomous foodstation 200 for spontaneous purchasers, e.g., who find themselveshungrier than originally expected. The food station control logic of theautonomous food station 200 may prompt the customer to add to theirpre-ordered purchase, for example with messages like “Would you likefries with that?,” or “Would you like to add a dessert?” Such items notpre-ordered may carry a premium cost, due to the risk the food partner106 may take that the food items spoil before sale, and/or to encouragecustomers 108 to order in advance.

FIG. 24 is a perspective cross-sectional view of a portion of theinterior of an autonomous food station 300 according to another exampleembodiment of the present invention. The autonomous food station 300includes a frame 376 supporting an array of cubbies in which a subset(in this case, optionally, the upper five rows of cubbies) are heated.In the example embodiment of FIG. 24 , a cooling system of theautonomous food station 300 may—but does not necessarily—cool any or allof the depicted array of heated cubbies. As used herein, a “heatedcubby” is a cubby that the heating system can heat, but the heatingsystem does not have to be heating it and it does not have to have anabove-ambient temperature at the time that it is considered andidentified herein as a “heated cubby.” In a preferred embodiment,heating of any or all of the depicted five rows of heated cubbies isindependent of any heating or cooling of any or all cubbies that residein lower rows of the array of cubbies.

In the example embodiment of FIG. 24 , the heating system of theautonomous food station 300 includes heating elements 367 disposedbeneath each of the five horizontal rows of depicted heated cubbies. Inthe example of FIG. 24 , the heating elements 367 are orientedhorizontally, and may be tubes for hydronic heating or electricallyresistive heating elements through which an electrical current isforced, with controllable valves or switches (respectively) tooptionally enable the heating system to heat each row independently ofthe other rows. Alternatively, each of the array of heated cubbies maybe heated individually and independently, as described in certain otherembodiments herein, or heated as a group array. One or more of theheated cubbies optionally may also include a humidifier for controllablyincreasing the relative humidity of the air within that cubby.

In the embodiment of FIG. 24 , the internal transport system 364includes an end effector that can be temporarily coupled to the portioncontainer carrier 374, for example when moving a food portion container110 from a cooled cubby lower in the array to the heated cubby shown inFIG. 24 to include the portion container carrier 374. Also, for example,the internal transport system 364 may temporarily couple to the portioncontainer carrier 374 to move the food portion container 110 from theidentification site 122 to a selected heated cubby, or from the selectedheated cubby to the collection hatch 113.

FIG. 25 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the interior of anautonomous food station 400 according to another example embodiment ofthe present invention. The food station 400 includes a frame 476supporting an array of cubbies including a subarray of group-cooledcubbies 402. In the example embodiment of FIG. 25 , a heating system ofthe autonomous food station 400 may—but does not necessarily—heat any orall of the depicted subarray of cooled cubbies 402. As used herein, a“cooled cubby” is a cubby that the cooling system can cool, but it doesnot need to have a below-ambient temperature and the system does nothave to be removing heat from it at the time that it is considered andidentified herein as a “cooled cubby.” In a preferred embodiment,cooling of the subarray of cooled cubbies 402 is independent of anyheating or cooling of any or all cubbies that reside outside thesubarray of group-cooled cubbies 402.

The cooling system of the autonomous food station 400 preferablyincludes a blower and a thermally insulated air duct 445, 446, which canconvey chilled air between an evaporator of a conventional airrefrigeration system (e.g. disposed in base compartment 197 of FIG. 18 )and the subarray of group-cooled cubbies 402. In the example embodimentof FIG. 25 , the thermally insulated air duct 445, 446 is optionally adual coaxial air duct with air flow towards the subarray of group-cooledcubbies 402 within an inner duct portion 445, and return air flow backto the evaporator within an outer duct portion 446. Such a coaxialarrangement may enhance space efficiency and reduce the quantity ofneeded thermal insulation. One or more of the group-cooled cubbies 402optionally may also include a desiccant or other conventional means fordecreasing the relative humidity of the air within that cubby.

Preferably an internal transport system 464 of the autonomous foodstation 400 can move a portion container carrier of a selected one ofcooled cubbies 402 (e.g. cubby 416) to a selected heated cubby to heat afood portion container according to a heating schedule, or directly tothe collection hatch 113 if the food is intended to be served unheated.

In the foregoing specification, the invention is described withreference to specific exemplary embodiments, but those skilled in theart will recognize that the invention is not limited to those. Forexample, the word “preferably” is used herein to consistently includethe meaning of “not necessarily” or optionally. “Comprising,”“including,” and “having,” are intended to be open-ended terms. It isalso contemplated that various features and aspects of the invention maybe used individually or jointly and possibly in a different environmentor application, and various changes in form and detail may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thespecification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded asillustrative and exemplary rather than restrictive, and the inventionshould be limited only according to the following claims, including allequivalent interpretation to which they are entitled.

We claim:
 1. A food station comprising: first and second pluralities of cubby enclosures, each cubby enclosure sized to enclose a food portion container and accept a portion container carrier that can hold the food portion container; a collection hatch large enough for the food portion container to pass therethrough, the collection hatch being externally accessible; a heating system that controllably heats one or more of the first plurality of cubby enclosures independently of the second plurality of cubby enclosures; a cooling system that cools one or more of the second plurality of cubby enclosures independently of the first plurality of cubby enclosures; an internal transport system including an end effector that temporarily couples to the portion container carrier of a selected cooled cubby enclosure of the second plurality of cubby enclosures and controllably moves the food portion container carrier within the food station to a selected heated cubby enclosure of the first plurality of cubby enclosures; and a control system including a memory that controls the heating and controls the movement of the internal transport system; wherein the internal transport system can controllably move the food portion container to the collection hatch.
 2. The food station of claim 1 wherein the one or more of the second plurality of cubby enclosures are cooled together as a group.
 3. The food station of claim 1 wherein the cooling system includes a blower and an insulated air duct between an evaporator of a refrigeration system and the second plurality of cubby enclosures.
 4. The food station of claim 1 wherein the portion container carrier includes front plate with a handle for coupling to the end effector.
 5. The food station of claim 1 wherein the collection hatch includes an external shutter that can be actuated by the control system to selectively control the external accessibility of the collection hatch.
 6. The food station of claim 5 wherein the collection hatch includes an internal shutter that can be actuated by the control system to selectively deny access from the collection hatch to an interior of the food station while the external shutter is open.
 7. The food station of claim 1 wherein internal transport system includes controllable mechanical actuators that translate the end effector in three orthogonal directions, each forming an axis of a Cartesian coordinate system.
 8. The food station of claim 1 wherein the first plurality of cubby enclosures are arranged in an array of rows, one row above another, and the heating system can heat each row independently of the other rows.
 9. The food station of claim 8 wherein the heating system includes horizontally-oriented heating elements disposed beneath each of the plurality of rows.
 10. The food station of claim 1 wherein the heating system includes electrically resistive heating elements through which an electrical current is forced.
 11. The food station of claim 1 wherein at least one of the first plurality of cubby enclosures includes a microwave magnetron for directing microwave radiation to controllably heat an enclosed food portion container.
 12. The food station of claim 1 wherein the stored information includes a heating instruction corresponding to the food portion container.
 13. The food station of claim 1 wherein the stored information includes a scheduled time for collection of the food portion container by a customer.
 14. The food station of claim 9 wherein the stored information includes a key for customer identity verification.
 15. The food station of claim 1 further comprising communication electronics capable of receiving information via the internet, and the stored information includes information received via the internet.
 16. The food station of claim 1 further comprising a label scanner, the stored information including information read by the label scanner from a label on the food portion container.
 17. The food station of claim 13 wherein the internal transport system controllably moves the food portion container carrier within the food station to an internal identification site that includes the label scanner.
 18. The food station of claim 1 wherein at least one of the first plurality of cubby enclosures includes a humidifier for controllably increasing the relative humidity of the air within that cubby enclosure.
 19. The food station of claim 1 wherein at least one of the second plurality of cubby enclosures includes a desiccant for decreasing the relative humidity of the air within that cubby enclosure.
 20. The food station of claim 1 wherein each cubby enclosure in the first and second plurality of cubby enclosures can be independently heated by the heating system and cooled by the cooling system.
 21. A food station comprising: first and second pluralities of cubbies, each cubby sized to enclose a food portion container and accept a portion container carrier that can hold the food portion container; a collection hatch large enough for the food portion container to pass therethrough, the collection hatch being externally accessible; a heating system that controllably heats one or more of the first plurality of cubbies independently of the second plurality of cubbies; a cooling system that cools one or more of the second plurality of cubbies independently of the first plurality of cubbies; an internal transport system including an end effector that temporarily couples to the portion container carrier of a selected cooled cubby of the second plurality of cubbies and controllably moves the food portion container carrier within the food station to a selected heated cubby of the first plurality of cubbies; and a control system including a memory that controls the heating and controls the movement of the internal transport system; wherein the internal transport system can controllably move the food portion container to the collection hatch; wherein the cooling system includes a blower and an insulated air duct between an evaporator of a refrigeration system and the second plurality of cubbies; and wherein the insulated air duct is a dual coaxial air duct with air flow towards the second plurality of cubbies within an inner duct portion and return air flow back to the evaporator within an outer duct portion. 